1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to an additive and/or coating that may be applied to a toner regulating member such as a doctor blade which may reduce the accumulation of toner in a pre- and/or post-nip area, which accumulation may lead to print quality defects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming devices, such as printers, copiers, fax machines, etc., utilize a number of components to transfer toner from a toner reservoir to a photoconductor and ultimately to a sheet of paper, or other media. For example, a photoconductor may be charged utilizing a charging device and selectively discharged to form a latent image thereon. Toner may then be transferred onto the photoconductor from the reservoir via differential charging of the photoconductor, toner and developer rollers or transfer rollers. From the photoconductor, toner may then be deposited onto a sheet of paper, creating the desired image. The transferred toner may then be fused to the paper by a fuser or other fixation device.
One step in the electrophotographic printing process generally involves providing a relatively uniform layer of toner on a toner carrier, such as a developer roller, that in turn supplies that toner to the photoconductive element. It may be advantageous for the toner layer to have a uniform thickness and a uniform charge level. One approach to regulating the toner on the toner carrier is to employ a so-called doctor or metering blade. However, problems may develop due to adhesion of the toner to the doctor blade which may then interfere with the overall doctoring procedure, for example, resulting in various print quality defects including, but not limited to, skid-marks.